Dr. Vasiliki Batalias at Farber Center for Periodontics & Dental Implants discusses teeth saved by LANAP procedure and patient’s excellent follow-up and self-care.

A LANAP Case

There was a man in his thirties who saw his dentist the week before to have two molars extracted. As a young man, he was devastated. From there, he made an appointment with me. When I met him I found out the idea of having treatment in a periodontal office scared him.

This patient committed to doing the LANAP laser treatment and within a month after laser gum surgery he felt so much better. We saw him for his one-year checkup and fortunately some teeth that we thought we were probably going to lose at some point had healed dramatically.

As a result of this treatment, he was not going to lose those teeth. Later, he told me that after our initial consultation he went into his car and started crying at the thought of losing another three to four of his molars. However, the treatment was very successful and he is in our maintenance program and doing great.

LANAP Maintenance

A good maintenance program is very important. Our mouth is full of bacteria and whether you have had periodontal disease or whether you are healthy, unless we see the patients and clean their teeth on a regular basis, periodontal disease can come back. Maintenance includes having the teeth cleaned at the gum line and below the gum line to remove the bacteria that can potentially cause gum disease. It is a critical part of all periodontal treatments, both for prevention and for maintenance.

This particular patient became very highly motivated to have a healthy mouth moving forward. I think losing the two teeth was definitely a wakeup call and he was very diligent. Following treatment, he came to all his scheduled appointments including the follow-ups and the bite adjustments, and he stayed current with his maintenance every three months. His home care was very good, and he took a very active role in his oral health.

When patients are cooperative and work with us, we often get an excellent result.

Dr. Vasiliki Batalias
Periodontist